


Halloween Knight (Censored)

by DaylightDreamerJJ



Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Azreal - Freeform, Costumes, Crazy Mom, Dogma - Freeform, Dracula - Freeform, Halloween, Haunted House, Help from Little bro, Knight, M/M, Not Incest, Trick or Treating, little brother, vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-27
Updated: 2014-11-27
Packaged: 2018-02-27 05:31:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2680871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaylightDreamerJJ/pseuds/DaylightDreamerJJ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Could a Demon really help a Knight find a Prince in a haunted house?</p>
<p>    Ben is the greatest big brother, Liam tells people frequently. This Halloween night is no different, Ben has yet again come through to make Liam's day. Maybe, though, it's time that Ben got a helping hand from Liam to find what he's been looking for.</p>
<p>    The young boy in this story will not be involved in anything mature, definitely no implications of anything like that going on with his brother or anyone else. He's too little!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Halloween Knight (Censored)

**Author's Note:**

> There is also a Mature, uncensored version of this work, if you'd like to view it, it's in my works. ^_^

"Liam, it's too far. You can't walk all the way there and back tonight, especially if you're stopping at houses." A small middle aged woman sternly eyed her young son.

"But Moooooom... I wanna do both. I'll be okay..." The thin, auburn haired boy whined.

"No. If you want to go trick or treating, then you can go. If you want to go to the haunted house, then I'll take you, but you can't have it both ways, sweetheart."

They were interrupted when a handsome young man with messy curls the same color as the boy's walked in. "What if he had a ride?"

"Ben!" They exclaimed simultaneously, the young boy running and jumping into his arms.

"You didn't tell us you were coming home!" His mother pouted, embracing her sons.

He laughed, hugging the two of them back. "I thought it'd be a nice surprise. The dorms aren't that far away, and I figured that if I helped Liam get lots of candy he'd let me raid it later."

Liam nodded quickly, his shining green eyes matching his brother and mother's perfectly.

"You need to dress up!" he chirped, eying the tall, muscular version of himself. "You're too big..."

Ben laughed loudly. "We'll figure something out."

"Go get ready, Demon. Hurry up and you boys can get to the costume shop before they close." The small woman shooed her younger son up the stairs and went to rifle through her purse.

"I'll give you some money to get one- oh, you're a godsend. I thought I'd be hearing about this for the next year- he's really gung-ho about that haunted house- I thought you had plans tonight?- Oh I'm so glad you came home!- He's so proud of his costume... little demon..." Her red curls, very similar to her sons' but a few shades lighter, bounced over her purse as she shifted things around aimlessly, having forgotten what she was doing and ignoring the calls coming from her older son.

"Mom!" He stopped her hand from moving through the bag and she looked up at him.

"Hi, Mom." The tall, strong boy smirked down at her.

"Hi, Honey." She smiled back and he bent to give her a hug and a quick peck on the cheek.

"I already have a costume, Mom, don't worry about it."

"So you did have plans tonight." She gave him a knowing look.

He looked away sheepishly. "It was another setup at some party."

"That girl hasn't found you a someone yet, but she won't give up, right?" Intelligent green eyes stayed on him as she sadly watched her son heave a sigh.

"I figured it was nothing and I'd go, so I got a costume... but then she started going on about someone I was going to meet tonight. So...I told her that you asked me to take Liam around and that I wouldn't feel right if I didn't..." He trailed off, sighing and looking guilty about leaving his friend to fend off another failed blind date.

"Don't feel bad, sweetheart. If Chrissy sets you up when she knows you don't want her to, it's her mess to clean up. It'll be just fine when you go back." She patted him on the arm affectionately. "So lets see this costume."

\---10 minutes later---

Ben poked his head into Liam's room after assembling his costume and was surprised to see his 10 year old brother fishing through his closet, wearing a crisp, white, 3 piece suit. "Liam! Are you almost... what are you?"

"I'm just lookin' for my hat." He whipped around, victorious with hat in hand. The young boy then put the white fedora on his head, gave his brother a bored look, and took it off again, exposing the two small horns on his forehead and saying in his most arrogant voice. "I'm a frickin' demon."

The older boy laughed and flicked his younger brother on the forehead, right between the horns. "Very nice, Azreal. Just don't let Mom hear you say that. Shoulda brought a putter."

"Haha, very funny. It's just a movie quote, though... yeah, maybe I won't." He smirked.

"Hey! Awesome costume! I thought you din't have one!" He chirped when he realized that the older boy was now covered in armor, helmet in one hand and sword on his hip.

"You were wrong, I always come prepared, kid. You oughtta know that. Now let's go, if ya want candy and the haunted house."

The two trotted down the stairs and found their mother waiting with a camera.

"Oh! You boys are so handsome! Any gi- anyone would be so lucky to have you! I'm the luckiest mother in the whole world! Look at you two, the handsome devil and knight in shining armor!" She went on about them, making them pose for pictures, and in every one there was a pair of matching grins, mostly at their mother's expense.

"We have to go, Mom. Your little demon wants his candy." Ben gestured to the younger boy.

"Of course, of course. You two go on, drive safely. Be careful tonight! Please have him back at a decent hour, Ben." She continued on again, ignoring the affirmatives and comments her sons replied with as she ushered them to the door.

"I love you boys! Be safe!" She yelled out the door when they were getting into Ben's car.

"Love you too, Mom! We will!" They shouted back in unison; perfectly matched, other than the difference in pitch that 9 additional years had given to Ben's voice.

They drove to a few different places where Ben could park the car and walk with Liam while he trick or treated the homes in the area.

Lights began to disappear from the houses as it grew later in the night and they decided it was time to go to the haunted house.

When they arrived they were informed that they were to walk in and follow the light at all costs; if you didn't follow the light, you may never be heard from again. Liam got a little nervous but was much too stubborn to back down from such a threat.

They entered the doors and were enveloped in complete darkness for a moment until an eerie, dim light that cast a reddish hue over them flickered to life just overhead.

For a long minute they just stayed there, catching a glimpse of a shadow off the the left, eyes to the right, and some sort of liquid pooling a little too nearby. The light flickered again and shifted a bit before it started moving into the darkness.

"C'mon, Ben, we have to follow it!" Liam yelled a harsh whisper and took Ben's hand, pulling him along.

The passed various ghouls and creatures, some things jumping out at them, others just making spooky noises in the dark.

As they passed an unoccupied coffin they heard a shriek somewhere in the distance and Liam jumped, squeezing Ben's hand tightly. Suddenly there was a poof of smoke on Liam's side and a cloaked figure jumped toward him, grabbing for the smaller boy and laughing a deep, menacing "Mwahahaha...". Liam screeched and threw him arm up in front of himself, effectively elbowing the figure in the stomach and turning his menacing laugh into an 'oomph' and thud as he fell into the darkness.

"Are you okay?!" Ben rushed toward the figure, having seen Liam's reactions towards, what was, of course, just a person in costume.

He helped pull the vampire up and was relieved to hear him breath out heavily. "I'm fine, keep up with the light or you'll get lost."

They finished their adventure with a few more surprises but no more mishaps and the she-devil at the exit checked them off the list of people in the house.

As they started their walk back through the outdoor festivities to the car, Ben was having an internal debate with himself which Liam interrupted, echoing his thoughts.

"I hope I din't hurt that guy... I din't mean to..."

The older boy smiled at his brother's compassion. "I was thinkin' about him, too. You want me to see if we can talk to him?"

The boy's green eyes lit up as he nodded.

They walked back to the doors and got the attention of the she-devil, asking politely if they could speak with the vampire that was lurking somewhere in the darkness.

She called out to him on a walkie-talkie with her strange, maybe New Jersey accent. "Oy, Drac, you the-ah?"

The walkie crackled and a young, amused male voice came over. "Yeah, Cyn, whatcha need?"

She called out again. "Ya got a couple-ah admirahs, c'mon outta the-ah."

The crackling came over again. "Admirers for me? You're full of it, Cyn. Be right out."

"He'll be down he-ah, the-ahs a side do-ah." She walked to the corner of the building and pointed down the building a bit to a door that was opening.

The boys walked past small groups of people in costume the the vampire that had come outside.

The scene was actually a bit eerie, if not for the lingering people and festive lights, it would've just been two young boys walking to meet a dark, cloaked figure with slicked black hair, pale skin, and fangs along the shadowed edges of a haunted house.

Then the shadowy figure gave a big, toothy, close eyed grin, waving to the boys and breaking the entire illusion.

"Hullo! Everything okay? Was I too scary?" He chirped loudly, moving toward the pair.

"Hi! My brother just wanted to talk to you for a minute, I hope you don't mind." Ben replied, gesturing to the, now shy, Liam.

The dark haired teen crouched in front of the youngest boy. "No problem, what's up, little man?"

"I... umm, I just wanned to check,,, make sure yer okay... I din't hurtcha did I?" He looked away sheepishly.

Bright white fangs were exposed when the vampire laughed. "Me? Nah, I'm totally fine. You can't do in a vampire that easily, silly."

Liam visibly relaxed and the black-haired boy looked up to share a grin with Ben.

"Sorry I hitcha. I'm a... karate master... on accident." The young demon smile apologetically.

The vampire laughed heartily and held out his hand to the boy. "No worries, I'm okay, so it's all settled, kay? Apology accepted."

Liam shook his hand, nodding vigorously and going quickly back to the perky boy that he usually is.

"So, Mr. Vampire, what's yer name?"

He stood and waved his cape with dramatic flourish, adding a menacing laugh. "I am the Prince of the night! Dracula!" He said loudly, deepening his voice and adding his best Transylvanian accent.

The tall knight tried his best to stifle a laugh as his younger brother gave 'Dracula' a look that clearly said: 'Yeah, right. Not buyin' it."

Dracula sighed, letting his voice go back to it's pleasant, much less threatening pitch. "It's Micah."

Liam seemed to ponder for a moment before carefully pronouncing it: "Mike-uh..." and then jabbering on incessantly. "That's a cool name! I'm Liam, this is my big brother, Ben. He's a knight in shining armor... and he's awesome! He took me trick or treating and here tonight! Isn't that awesome? ... Say, Micah... are you gay?"

"Liam! You know better than to ask things like that!" Ben scolded, flicking him between the horns.

Micah's steadily increasing amusement finally burst into a snort of laughter.

"I know, I know. No age, no weight, no address... Hey, how old are you?" Liam continued on.

"Liam!" His now blushing brother barked.

Micah continued to snort and laugh, failing to suppress his giggles until he was finally able to hold it down to a wide grin and address the boy again. "I'm 18, why d'you think I'm gay, Liam?"

Liam shook his head. "No, I don't think you are, I just wanna know 'case you are. 'Cause yer really pretty 'n' def'nitely like my brother likes."

Ben couldn't find any words and just stood, gaping at Liam, blushing all the way to his ears while Micah just grinned at the two of them.

"No! No!" A female voice erupted from a group nearby. All three boys jumped and looked toward the sound when another loud squeal ripped through the general mumbling of several surrounding parties.

A band of scantily dressed young women were making a bit more noise than the rest, giggling and randomly yelling things like: 'He's too cute!' and 'Gorgeous, go get 'im!" as well as 'You're hot!' as a small, blonde bunny was pushed forward from them. The others cheered her on as she bounced up to the boys.

"Ahem." The bunny cleared her throat unnecessarily, as she already had their attention.

She edged up toward Ben, almost rubbing against the arm that his helmet was held under.

"Hello, handsome knight. Are you looking for a damsel to take home?" She shifted so that she was tipping forward, looking up at him and exposing the majority of her cleavage as she batted her long, fake lashes.

Ben's usually kind, gentle face hardened; his nostrils flared and jaw tensed.

"No, thanks." he said coldly. "I prefer the Prince of the night." His eyes turned to Micah, who smirked cockily and flashed the girls a vicious, fanged smile while moving closer to Ben.

The taller boy slid his arm around the faux Dracula and let his hand settle casually on the other's hip.

The bunny's eyes widened and one of the girls scoffed. Blonde locks whipped through the air as the bunny spun on her heel and stalked away, her little gaggle of bimbos sounding like angry hens as they walked away balking.

Ben let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and let his hand drop from Micah's hip. "Sorry about that... thanks for helping." His jaw tightened again. "Pisses me off, Liam's right here 'n' they act like that! I don't get girls."

Micah nodded. "No problem, total sluts, y'know?"

The green eyed teen gave him an apologetic smile.

"So... you are gay?" Liam piped up, having gone quiet when the gaudy girl showed up.

Micah laughed loudly and grinned at Liam, casually dismissing the question once more.

"Ya know, if you guys don't have plans for the rest of the night, you could join me in scaring people out of their wits."

"Really?! Tha'd be so cool! Can we Ben?" Liam exclaimed, bouncing in front of his older brother.

Ben smiled fondly at him. "I don't mind, but are we scary enough?"

Micah looked at them with a thoughtful expression for a minute, getting down to his knee in front of Liam. "Well, let's see... wow, you're a perfect replica of your big bro, aren't you? You'll be quite the heartbreaker in a few years, eh?" He said with a wink; Liam grinned at him proudly.

The vampire glanced up at the taller boy and gave him a smirk, getting a blush and a sheepish smile in return.

"So..." he turned back to Liam. "You are-"

"I'm a frickin' demon." The youngest boy cut in with an arrogant flare to his voice that didn't at all match his true personality.

He started bouncing again and exclaimed excitedly when Micah laughed and said: "Ah, Azreal. You could be scary enough."

His steel grey eyes turned to Ben, running up and down the armor a couple of times before stopping at the helmet tucked neatly under the knight's right arm.

"Hah! Got it!" He shouted, standing and placing a hand on the helmet, silently asking if he could and then taking it to inspect the inside.

The two brothers exchanged confused glances as they watched Micah look inside the helmet and shift the faceplate up and down.

"Would it hurt your eyes... I wonder... it'd fit perfect right..." The dark haired teen spoke aloud but he was alone in his thought process.

When he couldn't stand being patient any longer, Liam spoke up. "What would fit?"

Micah snapped back to reality and hit the ground running. "A glow stick! D'you think it'd bother your eyes if we fixed a glowstick right in here?" He pointed to a portion of the faceplate just above the grating. "It'd be eerie, Scooby-Doo style, right? You could stand really still 'n' they'd think you were a prop, 'til you grab 'em!"

Ben grinned. "That would be awesome, I don't think it'll hurt my eyes. We can try it."

Micah used a key-card to get back in the door, telling the brothers he'd be right back and returning very quickly with a green glowstick.

Liam bounced happily while they prepared his brother's helmet and just about squealed when the Dracula look-alike announced they could go inside.

They went in and prepared themselves, Micah first, so that he could be the cue for the others boys to be ready.

The walkie announced that there was another group coming through soon, so Micah quickly restated the instructions for their first tactic.

The dim lights went to complete darkness, they saw the small light flicker on in the distance and waited patiently as it zigzagged it's way toward them.

A shriek rang out, Micah's cue that they were approaching, about three seconds later a puff of smoke and the deep, menacing "Mwahahaha" that the vampire somehow produced from his throat followed.

The group, two girls and a boy that were somewhere around thirteen, jumped simultaneously and rushed forward, away from the dark figure.

As they slowed with the light, they approached an upright coffin, Liam stood in it, arms crossed on his chest and a placid, faraway look on his face... until he could see them up close.

As instructed and practiced, he changed his expression to the creepiest smile he could muster, and then the most vicious, bloodthirsty grin, which clearly worked well, because they tried to move away as much as the light would allow, squeezing together at the other side of the narrow walkway. Just as planned, fear of Liam drove them to the other side, where Ben stood waiting patiently, completely unnoticed except for the tiny bit of light he emitted.

The three young teens moved slowly forward, the light not allowing them to move faster, as the tried to get away from the Dracula and the strange, creepy demon-child. As soon as they were close enough, Ben's statue-still form quickly reached out and grabbed the nearest girl's arm, causing her to shriek and the other two to echo it, jumping and rushing as far into the light as possible, moving away to the next fright in the spooky place.

When the group was far enough ahead, Micah went to the brothers and praised them for a scare well done.

"That was the coolest thing I have ever done!" Liam whispered loudly.

"You were pretty rad, I was watching." Micah agreed.

"You, too, Ben! I din't think you'd do it, yer too nice." The younger boy teased.

"Is that so?" The vampire grinned.

Ben chuckled, his helmet muffling his voice. "Well, usually I wouldn't. I'd feel bad scaring people, but that's why they're here."

The walkie crackled and the boys resumed their positions.

They scared several more groups, but before they knew it, it was time for the haunted house to close up for the night, and time for Liam to go home.

"You ready to go, kid? It's bedtime for little demons." Ben asked, affectionately ruffling his brother's hair.

He smiled sleepily up at his brother, nodding a bit and glancing toward Micah thoughtfully. He looked pensive for a moment and then addressed them both.

"Is it late?"

"Late enough." Ben stated and Dracula had apparently gone modern because he pulled out his cell phone to check the time. "Yep, it's just past eleven, little man."

He chewed his lip for a minute. "But... there's still... like, grown up stuff, right? Parties 'n' all?"

"Liam," Ben started in a stern tone. "You cannot go to a par-"

"I don't wanna! I was just askin'!" He said loudly, pleading his innocence.

Micah chuckled quietly, wondering if he understood what he thought Liam was trying to say.

"I just thought... you guys prolly ain't tired... so, ya know... like, you could maybe take me home... but maybe... 'cause yer grown ups, kinda... you could go 'n' do stuff, like a party or whatever... like... together, maybe... if ya wanned to." The youngest boy rambled on in his shy but forward way.

Ben's face lost it's disapproving look and changed to surprise while Micah understood exactly what was going on, smirking happily at Liam.

"Oh..." The handsome knight looked a bit at a loss for words.

"I'm up for it, but only if you want to." The grey eyed teen said very casually, letting him off the hook if he wanted.

Ben blushed. "I... yeah, okay. Sounds like fun."

"Good! Now take me home, cabbie! I'm ready for bed!" Liam shouted, sounding anything but tired.

The boy grabbed both teens by the hand and dragged them towards Ben's car.

"Liam, hold up!" Ben stopped his brother and looked to Micah. "We didn't even ask, do you have a car, or are you alright to ride with us?"

"Nah, I rode here with Cyn, it's fine. I can just text her and let her know not to wait for me." He gave them a big close-eyed smile and Liam started to drag them off again.

"I'll take the back seat!" The 10 year old carbon copy shouted, hopping into the back of the car as Ben unlocked it. The two older boys laughed together as they took the front seats.

Micah and Liam had a small debate about a video game until the younger boy fell asleep and left the teens to chat on the short ride back to the brothers' home. Micah watched Ben curiously as he suggested they go to a Halloween party at a small club near his apartment, which was a little closer than the haunted house, but in another direction, Ben was quick to agree since he had no valid suggestions of his own.

"Liam, we're home. Wake up, it's time to go inside." Ben gently shook his little brother, getting a little grumble of "But, I want the miso ramen..." in reply and causing Micah to just about suffocate himself trying to quiet his laughter.

When he refused to wake up the older boy unhooked his seatbelt and started to pick him up, only to be met with flailing limbs and a squawk of horror.

"Ben! I'm too big for that! Lemme go!" Liam yelled as he flailed and Ben dropped him unceremoniously back onto the seat of the car.

"You wouldn't wake up." He stated obviously with a lighthearted scowl at his little brother.

"Jeez, brother! I'm awake now!" Liam said indignantly.

Ben sighed and laughed a little. "C'mon, then, it's time for you to go inside and get to bed."

He got out of the car, making sure to get his candy bag, and jumped up to give his brother a hug. "Thanks for takin' me trick-er-treatin' 'n' to the haunted house, it was really really fun! Best Halloween EVER!"

Ben's response was left in the wind as Liam ran to the other side of the car and pulled the passenger door open, giving Micah a quick hug. "Bye, Micah! I'm glad we met you, sorry it was 'cause I whacked you. I hope I see you again, we can see if yer gaming is as good as ya think!"

"Later, Liam. We sure can, I'll kick your butt." The dark haired teen laughed.

"Yeah, right! Bye, have fun! Drive careful, Ben." The boy shouted, running back toward the house. Ben waited to make sure he made it inside safely before leaving.

"You're brother's a piece o' work. He's really funny." Micah laughed as they pulled out of the driveway.

"Yeah, he's a trip, that's for sure." Ben chuckled, nodding.

\---Meanwhile, in the house---

"Demon, you're home! Did you have fun?" The overly perky redhead exclaimed as her son walked in.

"Yeah, we had lots of fun. We even got to help in the haunted house, we scared people!" He chirped happily.

"Wow, that must've been fun. Where's Ben?"

"Well... see... he's goin' to a party or somethin' with this guy, our new friend from the haunted house, Micah; he's real pretty 'n' Ben was bein' kinna shy, so I helped!" Liam told his mother proudly.

She smiled slyly at her son and pulled him forward to kiss the top of his head. "You're a good boy, Liam. Now, give me your Reese's and get your little demon butt to bed."

He ran to the stairs and stuck out his tongue at his mother before throwing her a peanut butter cup and running up to his room, yelling as he went. "Love you, Mom. Gnight!"

"I'll be up in a few minutes!" She shouted after him, she wouldn't wait up for Ben; he hadn't been asked to stick to any sort of curfew for years and was very trustworthy to handle himself.

\---Back in the car---

Ben and Micah made small talk, discussed movies that they liked, Liam's strange affinity for 'Dogma', and the unfortunate events that lead to Ben becoming a knight this evening.

"I'm surprised you were planning to go with your friend to begin with... I didn't think you'd be one for clubbing or parties." The dark haired boy gave his companion an amused, knowing look.

Ben let out a small laugh. "You'd be right. I'm not."

Micah smirked meaningfully back at him. "So... you decided to go to the club with me tonight, why?"

"I... well, it... seemed like a good idea?" He replied, blushing.

The slightly younger boy laughed warmly and put his hand on the other's arm. "You know, if you'd rather not go to a club, we can just hang out. You can come to my apartment, I'm not opposed to a quiet night."

Curious green eyes darted over to him for a moment, going quickly back to the road. "You don't want to go to the club?"

"Nah, that's not it. I just kinda get the feeling you'd feel out of sorts in a club, and I'd like to actually get to know you. Figured that'd be easier somewhere more comfortable."

"Thanks... yeah, I'm not much for crowds, I guess." Ben smiled gratefully.

"Take a left at the next intersection, then." He gestured to the street he wanted Ben to turn onto with one pale, slender hand.

Ben did as he was instructed and continued following Micah's directions until they pulled into a driveway.

"I'm not going to eat you... or suck your blood, for that matter."

His auburn waves jumped out of place when Ben spun his head to face Micah. "What?"

Steel eyes sparkled with amusement as he explained. "You look nervous, I was just lettin' ya know; if I get hungry, there's food in the fridge, I won't have to eat you. Besides, I don't think Liam would like me anymore if I did." His smile grew and light glinted off his fangs as the laughter of the two boys filled the car.

"Yeah, I think it might put a bit of a damper on your friendship." Ben mused.

"Ours, too, eh?" The other boy said with a smirk.

Ben blushed at him and they got out of the car, Micah leading the way up the stairs to his small, but inviting, efficiency apartment.

"Care for the grand tour?" Micah grinned as he spread his arms, gesturing grandly to the whole of the apartment.

"Of course." Ben replied, playing along with his dramatics.

"This would be the kitchen, where all the fine dining occurs." The dark haired boy bowed and spread his arms toward one corner of the large room, where a small 'kitchen area' was obvious. He used a dramatic sweeping motion to move his gesture from the kitchen to another area with a television and recliner. "Over here, the living area, where the young master, Moi, makes himself comfortable when being lazy." Repeating the motion he indicated an area with a bed, dresser and small, plush chair. "The bedroom, of course, where he gets his beauty rest to maintain his loveliness... and lastly, the bathroom, where he preens himself when need be." He flicked one hand dismissively toward a door just a few feet from the bed.

Ben's eyes followed each motion and roved over the furniture and decor of the single large room. It was neatly separated into a very nice living space with what he would call 'a lot of character', which seemed to be exactly what Micah intended. With each new description the faux vampire's antics caused a new round of quiet laughter.

"What a handsome kingdom you have, from what I can tell, it has your... essence." The taller boy attempted to stay 'in character' to the air of medieval times that Micah had created, but was not nearly as convincing, his shyness stifling any ability to be as dramatic.

"And how wonderful to have here a glorious knight such as yourself!" His cape swept around him as the younger boy spun, his voice rising in theatrics. He stopped and looked at Ben for a moment, letting his voice fall into disappointment, almost whining. "You left your helmet in your car."

Ben stared at him, a little surprised at his declaration. "Sorry?" The apology came out as a question and Micah burst into laughter, Ben following suit a few seconds later.

"Thanks." Said the dark haired teen as he calmed himself.

"What for?" Ben smiled at him, still bemused by the whole theatrical display.

"Laughing... you know, actually playing along. You're a rare find, most people just look at me like I've lost it when I start to... eh, get funny. I was just hopin' you'd be a little more at ease if you thought I'd gone batty."

Chuckling, the green eyed knight nodded. "You're welcome, then. In case Liam wasn't enough to clue you in, 'batty' is pretty normal in our house."

Micah grinned and chuckled again, suddenly jumping in surprise."Ah! Damn!" He tipped his head down as he poked around at his mouth.

"Jeez, those things are actually sharp. All night with no problem and then just laughin', I fang myself!" He stood back upright, showing Ben the two small fangs that had been adhered to his canines.

"Oh, dang, I was hopin' you were a real vampire." Ben snickered before smiling coyly at the other boy. "Heh, just teasing... are you okay?"

"Che, yeah, I'm fine. I'm much better than a vampire, though, I can go out in the sunlight and keep my skin on." The not-so-vampire-anymore stuck his tongue out at his companion.

Ben eyed him for a moment. "Your skin's at least as fair as mine, maybe even more, you sure you're UV friendly?" The friendly banter helped him loosen up some and he found it becoming easier to joke and chat with the other boy.

A playful scowl was tossed the way of the auburn haired teen and he heard a slightly grumbled. "I said I got to keep it on, don't mean it's not red and aching."

Ben laughed and after a moment Micah joined him, knowing that they suffered the same summertime affliction; that he was not being teased as much as he was finding a kindred spirit in being overly pale and not safe in the sunshine.

"You want somethin' to drink?" The dark haired host asked as he strode over to the plush chair near his bed and removed his cape, draping it over the chair.

"Sure." Ben replied, his intense green eyes didn't miss a single move the other boy made. Suddenly, every twitch of muscle was enthralling for him, though he tried to tug his thoughts back to the fact that he was being asked what he wanted to drink.

This happened several times that night, shining green eyes ending up stuck on Micah's slender form while trying, and failing, to concentrate on dialogue. When he wasn't entranced, the discussions flowed easily from one thing to the next, family to food preferences, from food to movies, theatres, and then to musical choices. They discovered that they had a lot in common, while each clearly had their individual style.

The boys found themselves lost in conversation, not knowing or caring about the time, or that their drinks were long since gone, or even that at some point Ben had begun unconsciously disassembling his armor, stacking it in a neat pile out of the way and revealing his t-shirt and jeans.

Micah suddenly stretched his entire body, his back and all four limbs to their absolute limit, sprawling back across the bed where he had been sitting. "Is it just me, or is it gettin' a little sleepy in here?"

Ben grinned, chuckling at Micah's odd way of phrasing things, and looked at his cell, his face quickly registering a look of surprise. "Well, it is almost four a.m., it should be a little sleepy, shouldn't it?"

"Damn, I guess so!" The dark haired boy smiled and started to stretched again but jumped back to attention when Ben stood and went to gather his armor. "Wait, what're you doin'?"

His face turned to confusion at the question. "I was gonna get going home, so you could go to bed. I didn't mean to keep you up so long."

"No, no, it's too late to be driving! What if you fell asleep!? You might not feel tired now, but driving is boring and you could drift off. It'd be my fault! Stay here, please... I'll sleep in the recliner, you can take the bed." Micah went off, his eyes wide, clearly very upset by the potential for a sleep-deprived accident.

Seeing his distress, Ben couldn't even consider leaving. He nodded and was happy to see the other relax. "I'll stay. I'm sorry, I didn't think about that."

Dark lashes curved around steel eyes when he grinned in relief. "That's okay, as long as you stay. C'mere, meet your comfy bed for the night. It's killer, really. I love it." He patted the bed next to himself.

Ben bit his lip but moved cautiously to sit on the bed, discovering that it really was very comfortable. "Very nice." He said quietly.

"Thanks for staying... I get a little... nervous about vehicles 'n' stuff... they're dangerous." Micah sounded embarrassed for the first time since they'd met and the other boy smiled warmly at him. "It's no problem, thanks for being concerned about me."

Both boys' fair skin reddened a bit after that.

The younger was, of course, the first to recover. "I need to wash this junk out of my hair before bed, though. It's kinda nasty. Sorry, I'll be fast." He ran his hand back through his hair to show the greasy pomade that had been put in to slick it back for his vampire look.

"No problem, take your time." Ben nodded and amused himself with his cell while waiting for Micah to return, he kept looking back at the time, thoroughly shocked that he was still not very tired.

Only a few minutes passed before he heard the water shut off, and just another moment before Micah reappeared before him. He was not expecting for his gaze to be stuck, once again, to every movement and flex, with the added bonus of watching water droplets drip from the now clean, black hair that was a bit longer than it had seemed, hanging down with very slight waves into his face and sticking to his jawline. He was expecting even less for those water droplets to fall onto the boy's bare shoulder and trail down into the dip of his collarbone, down his pale chest and over the flat, slightly toned stomach, around his bellybutton and almost make it to the few dark hairs that started a trail southward, only to be rapidly absorbed into the towel that hung on slender hips.

Micah seemed not to notice the emerald eyes glued to his body as he grinned, rubbing the back of his neck and saying quickly "Sorry, I forgot to grab PJs!" before moving to rummage through the dresser.

Ben couldn't respond as his eyes greedily roamed every inch of exposed, damp flesh; they traced the curve of his back, his thin but strong shoulders, snapping up to see the flex of the lean muscles in his arms as he moved things in the dresser. The pale, slightly muscular arms stretched down to the floor to let one foot at a time into the boxers that he had taken from the dresser and, although he felt weak, Ben's will was strong enough to pull away for a moment as the other boy pulled the boxers up under the towel. The resolve broke, however, when the towel dropped to the ground. He was once again transfixed on the near-naked body in front of him, feeling shameful, but unable to break out of the trance.

"Are you okay?" Micah had finally noticed the mesmerized expression of the boy that was watching him.

There was no answer, but the green eyes traveled over his body hungrily as he stood straight and moved toward the other boy. "Hey, are you in there?"

Still no answer, he wondered if perhaps he had fallen asleep and was sleepwalking... or sleep sitting. The captivated eyes never left his body even as their owner blinked ever so slowly and licked his lips.

"Ben?" That was the first time Micah had said his name, that thought snapped him out of his trance and as he looked up at the steel grey eyes that were on him, he blushed red all the way to the tips of his ears.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry... I must've... fallen asleep? Into some sort of... sleep daze..." Ben sputtered, trying to come up with a decent excuse.

"A sleep daze?" The younger boy questioned with amusement in his tone.

He nodded slowly. "Something like that."

"Ben?" Micah spoke his name again softly and took a step closer, only inches away now.

Green eyes looked back up, the embarrassment still there, but heavily masked by his obvious attraction and desire for the boy in front of him.

His lips turned up in a smirk, his voice coming out soft and low. "Do you often check people out when you're in a 'sleep daze'?"

Ben started to sputter again but Micah stopped him as he placed a pale hand onto the boy's heated cheek and slid it back, brushing his thumb across the reddened ear and lacing fingers into the shorter auburn hair at the back his head.

As green and grey eyes met, Micah moved forward, placing his knee on the bed to Ben's left, and pressing his own lips to the soft pink lips of the blushing boy. Ben hesitated for a moment in his surprise before responding wholeheartedly, moving into the kiss and letting his eyes slip closed. Micah ran his tongue along Ben's bottom lip and was quickly permitted to deepen the kiss, the battle for dominance was not hard fought as each of them won over the other and then happily allowed their victory to be overturned.

Micah's kisses were particularly harsh, biting and bruising the sweet, tender lips against his own, though the moans and gasps that were elicited from his victim made it clear that he very much enjoyed it that way.

One large, strong hand ghosted over Micah's spine before coming to rest in the small of his back, gently pulling him against the larger, somewhat muscular torso of the other boy. The dark haired boy broke the kiss, stopping to breath and leaning down to rest his forehead against Ben's, smiling softly at him. The hand on Micah's back traced small patterns on his skin while trailing upwards over his spine, ribs, and up between his shoulder blades suddenly pushing him forward to give Ben the perfect access to kiss, lick, and softly nip at his neck.

Ben heard and felt the seductive sounds coming from Micah's throat as he dragged his teeth across the tender flesh, following the same trail with small kisses a second later and then venturing higher to nip at his ear.

"Ben..." Micah's voice came out rough and breathy before he brought his other knee onto the bed, placing himself in Ben's lap and brutally attacking the swollen lips with his own lips, tongue, and teeth.

The two of them were a bit awkward at first; Ben was naturally shy but occasionally took things into his own hands, while Micah was very dominant but tried to remain delicate with Ben. He kept his teasing and prodding gentle and not too explicit, getting the other boy to relax and be a bit more assertive. Once they found the rhythm that fit them together, the boys easily brought each other into a heated frenzy in their desire.

Ben pulled Micah down for a passionate kiss, the smaller boy quickly dominating him before breaking away and nuzzling his neck tenderly. Ben took the opportunity to place a kiss just below his ear and laid back with a contented sigh.

The raven haired boy sat up a bit and moved off of Ben, lying on his side to face him and nuzzling his ear now, whispering to him as he licked the outer shell. "You know, you look incredibly sexy, laying here sprawled out, naked on my bed with the glow still fresh on your skin." He smirked when the other boy tensed and his face went from pleasantly flushed to beet red. "You should be careful, or I'll be ready to go again, and as a rule... I don't bottom twice in one night."

Ben coughed and sputtered, not sure how to respond to such a suggestion, but curiosity and a touch of wit overrode his embarrassment, though his thought still came out a hoarse whisper. "You call that bottoming?"

Micah laughed, grinning at the other boy. "Okay, so I'm a little dominant, but it's my bum that-"

The large hand that imprinted his hip covered the boy's mouth before being replaced with a pair of soft, and rather bruised, lips. Ben smiled shyly when he pulled away. "That's okay, you don't have to explain, I get it."

"I knew you would." He smirked, looking very pleased with himself. Ben shook his head, smiling softly at the other boy. His lips parted in a quiet 'oof' when Micah suddenly plunked his weight over the right half of his torso, sliding one hand down his arm to lace their fingers together. "I'm only teasin'..." The smaller boy whispered hotly in his ear. "I'll bottom as many times as you want, I just can't act the stereotype."

The barely faded blush deepened once more as Ben spoke. "I don't like stereotypes."

Micah grinned at him, almost proudly. "Good! Now... come on, I'll wash you up; someone got you all sticky." He winked at the other boy and stood up, refusing to let go of the hand he was holding and pulling him up off the bed, through the bathroom and into the shower.

\--- Several hours later ---

Micah awoke to his cell phone, alerting him to a text message. He slowly and carefully reached to pick up his phone.

'Today @ 10:33am - Message from: Cyn

Message: Oy, ya slut. I need details. Call me.'

He groaned softly and rolled his eyes; trying not to move too much, he typed his reply.

'Reply to: Cyn

Message: Can't now. TTYL. <3'

Laughing quietly, he thought to himself; as if she had any right to call him a slut, she'd had at least 3 people, gender irrelevant, to every guy he'd been with, which was a very low number... in fact, Ben was only his third... he hadn't meant for all that happened, but he sure didn't regret it.

He set his phone down and pulled his arm back under the covers, into the warm, snug embrace Ben had him in; he wasn't usually afraid of much, but he felt very secure in his arms, even if the tall, strong boy holding him was truly nothing but a sweet little puppy. Turning his head and tilting back a little, he looked at the boy's still sleeping face, his breathing was light and steady, lashes slightly fluttering over what Micah knew were some of the most gorgeous green eyes known to mankind. His hand moved of it's own accord, drifting up to brush back some of the longer auburn waves that had fallen into the boy's face, thumb ghosting over soft lips before he leaned up to press his own lips against Ben's jawline, and then neck, moving up to plant a kiss lightly on his temple.

Dark eyebrows which showed the slightest hint of red furrowed together, the eyes they protected squinted for a moment as they adjusted to the late morning light and finally brightened when they took in the beautiful raven haired boy in front of them. A lazy grin spread across Ben's face and he reached up to scratch the back of his neck, messing up his hair and stretching his limbs. His long arms wrapped around Micah and pulled him inward, squeezing the boy tight against him. "Morning." He whispered in a raspy, sleep filled voice.

"G'mornin, Ben. Thank you for not leaving last night." Whispered Micah as slender fingers wound their way into Ben's hair and pulled him forward to receive a kiss, right in the middle of his forehead.

_________________________________________________

\---2 months later---

"Liam! Door! Honey, can you get the door?! I'm up to my elbows here!" The red-headed woman that shared her green eyes with her sons yelled from the kitchen; she was attempting to stuff a turkey, and seriously considering pizza. (Who needed turkey for a 'Welcome-home-for-Christmas-break-Ben-Happy-Thankgiving-because-one-gigantic-meal-is-enough!' celebration?)

"I heard, Mom! I'm goin'!" came the shouted reply.

Moments later, the kitchen door swung open just enough so that he could pop his head in. "It's jus' Micah! I'm stealin' him so we can try our mission again!"

"Ugh, that video game," she mumbled under her breath. "Alright, Demon, just don't harass him too much, okay?"

"Okay! I won't kill 'im 'fore Ben get's home!"

"Howdy, ma'am. How're you this fine mornin'?" Micah asked sweetly in a deep southern drawl, pushing the door open further.

"I'm just fine. Thank you, Micah. Don't forget, I know you love your theatrics, but you'd never survive in the south with skin like ours." She smiled warmly at the boy she'd rapidly come to accept as part of the family.

"Much obliged, ma'am." He chuckled and was suddenly dragged away by a much-too-powerful-for-his-size, pint-sized replica of his boyfriend.

"C'mon. I wanna get to play 'fore Ben steals ya!" Liam shouted unnecessarily, since the other was just behind him.

"Where is he, by the way? I thought he was supposed to be home for break by now." Micah's face turned into an unintentional pout as he was dragged upstairs to the extra room that had morphed into a 'game room' for the brothers to share.

Liam thought about it for a moment before replying. "He was s'posed to be early first... 's'why he was gonna be home today, 'cause break starts in a coupla days... then his one test got, um... postpoemed. So he's gonna be late, but he's still comin' home today. So you get to play with the cool brother, 'stead of the shy one fer now."

Micah couldn't help but laugh; Liam had a way with words. "Alright, little man, I can handle that. Let's kick some butt!"

They played video games while they waited for the college student to finish his test and get home, both of them impatient to see him, but happy to have good company. They could easily have been brothers themselves as they battled virtual foes, tossed cheese puffs at each other and playfully bickered about who caused the latest failure.

\---Several 'Start Again?'s Later---

Ben arrived home a while later, walking into an oddly quiet house, he wandered to the kitchen and found his mother. "Hi, Mom!" He greeted happily, surprising her.

"Welcome home, sweetheart!" The food-covered woman smiled lovingly at her eldest son, refusing his hug because she was admittedly filthy, and pecking him on the cheek instead.

"Where's Liam?" He asked casually, wondering why he wasn't helping her to turn the kitchen into a disaster zone.

"He's upstairs with his victim. He and Micah are killing ogres or something obscure like that." She smiled when she saw her son's eyes light up at the mention of his boyfriend. "Go and see them, I'm sure they both missed you, too."

"Thanks, Mom." He grinned and rushed to the stairs, but, thinking better of it, he crept quietly up them and peeked into the only room where they could possibly be killing obscure mythical creatures.

There they were, two of his favorite people in the entire world, both tapping intently at the controllers in their hands, making animalistic noises when they were attacked. Liam started yelping about an attack and Micah, or Micah's on-screen counterpart, rather, rushed to his aid; only to be killed by an onslaught of some horrifying greenish creatures.

"Ah! What do I do?! You left me 'n' they're everywhere! Frick! Micah!" Liam yelled as his on-screen counterpart tried to outrun, outhide, or outfight, any of the gruesome things.

"Liam, you're not supposed to say that." Micah corrected him calmly.

Ben could see the light shining in his eyes from the television as they went wide. "Bu-but! Ah! Yer- yer... get-ting me... killed here!" His speech was interrupted by the concentration he was putting into the video game.

"Technically, you got me killed... called me into an ambush. For shame." The dark-haired boy teased and Liam made another squeal of protest at the screen as his character was killed off.

He set down the controller and crossed his arms, glaring at Micah in a playful challenge. "Your fault. You came to it."

"Oh, really? And just what else am I supposed to do when my best buddy is in trouble?" The older boy appealed to Liam's ego, winning him over as always.

Liam threw a cheese puff at Micah's head and Ben couldn't help laughing; both boys turned to him and exclaimed excitedly.

They ran to him, apparently trying to see who could squeeze him to death first. Micah backed off for a second so that Ben could properly squish his little brother, which he did, and then Liam backed off for a second so that he could do the same to Micah. However, Ben did not want to squish his boyfriend, and instead hugged him tightly and gave him a passionate, albeit PG rated, kiss.

"Eww! Guys! That's nasty! Why'd ya have to do that in fronta me!" The youngest boy yelled indignantly, as if he'd never seen them kiss before, which he had.

Ben raised one eyebrow at his little brother as Micah chuckled and stuck out his tongue at him. "What are you on about? No gay bashing in this house, kid."

Liam looked at his older brother and wrinkled his nose. "It's not gay bashin', I don't care about that. It's brother bashin', 'cause you guys are bein' gross!"

The couple laughed and shared another quick kiss to tease Liam, who, honestly, didn't really care that they kissed in front of him, but always enjoyed harassing his easily-embarrassed brother; his new best friend, Micah, very much enjoyed the same thing.

Ben laced his fingers in Micah's and put his other arm around Liam's shoulder, pulling them both into the hall. "Let's go help Mom before she bakes herself into a pie or something. Did you guys see her?"

Both of the other boys looked at him, shaking their heads 'no'.

"Well... the food might taste good, but I don't think she should ever be left alone in the kitchen." The three laughed together as they trotted down the stairs.


End file.
